Thursday, March 21, 2024
- MHRC: Kit Thomson Crossman was appointed Executive Director on November 20, 2023
- US Supreme Court: A whistleblower bringing a claim under the whistleblower-protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 bears the burden to prove that his protected activity “was a contributing factor in the unfavorable personnel action alleged in the complaint”; he is not required to make some further showing that his employer acted with “retaliatory intent,” meaning something akin to animus
- First Circuit: “[A]s a matter of the statute’s plain and unambiguous language, the [Maine Equal Pay Law]’s liability provision does not incorporate an intent element, and its affirmative defenses are limited to those specifically enumerated”
- US District Court ME: The court allowed plaintiff to file a late response statement to defendant’s statement of material facts on defendant’s motion for summary judgment, finding excusable neglect where plaintiff’s counsel did not notice the missing response statement when she electronically filed other responsive filings (legal staff in her office had not included it among the documents to be filed because plaintiff’s counsel had not yet approved it)
- US District Court ME: In ruling for and against former employer on its motion for summary judgment on various employment discrimination claims, the court held, in part, that plaintiff’s denial of Family and Medical Leave Act benefits claim could proceed because there was sufficient evidence that employer discouraged plaintiff from using FMLA leave even though it never denied the leave
- US District Court ME: The court denied church’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of the Maine Human Right Act prohibitions on educational and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity against religious school, finding no Free Exercise, Establishment, or Free Speech violations with such enforcement
- US District Court ME: Finding sufficient evidence under the McDonnell Douglas framework, the court denied employer’s motion for summary judgment as to the employee’s claims of sex and age discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act
- EEOC: Starting December 13, 2023, attorneys may electronically file charges of discrimination on behalf of their clients through the EEOC E-File Portal
